As the 2010 season drew to a close in November, the girl known in the surfing world as ‘Happy Gilmore’ could not have been happier. Stephanie Gilmore, the 22 year old from Tweed Heads in Australia, had just claimed her fourth consecutive world title in spectacular style. Her year would take an unhappy turn just a few weeks later however, as the young Australian was attacked in her home by an assailant weilding a metal pole, leaving her with a broken wrist and cuts to her head and hands.Gilmore’s story began 5 years earlier, when she burst onto the women’s surfing scene in 2005, winning the Roxy Pro Gold Coast at the tender age of 17. This victory announced her entry as a major force within the surfing world, and she followed this up in 2007 by winning her first ASP world title in her rookie season. Her stunning rise to fame was a surprise to many, but Gilmore had always stood out as an exceptional talent. Encouraged by her father, she had first picked up a board at the age of 10, and soon realised she
